Books. Shoes. Home. Life.

Five For Friday (actually just 3): Holidays, Homes, and Harried Living

Hello! I have been on quite the little sabbatical since my last Five for Friday post on the 18th–nearly a month!! I’ll be honest, I wasn’t so busy working on my novel or editing to write a blog post. I basically haven’t written anything since then. I spent about 20 minutes editing my first-born, which I unpublished in December (a huge decision you can read a bit about here). I also wrote a couple of draft blog posts for an upcoming thing and I worked on one of my WIPs until I got to the piece’s climax scene and have been too stressed out about it to continue–I’m planning on dedicating some quite, weekend time to getting through that soon. Not a lot of writing has happened, but a lot of other stuff has happened. A LOT, a lot.

we are in the process of getting ready to buy a home. Sweet Lord Jesus–what a process! I’ve spent the last week tracking down our taxes, statements, etc. from the last two years to prep for our loan application (which is happening about the same time this is being published). Having a husband who owns a successful business is awesome…until you have to apply for loans and prove that you make money every month and aren’t some sort of illicit operation for the mafia. Moses, it’s a lot of work. But, silver lining, we need to prepare for tax filing any way so this has basically covered that process. It’s also just stressful. We have money saved, we are only looking at houses we can afford, etc. but it still feels like a fairly daunting commitment, especially for two commitment-phobes! Other than J, I am not fully committed to too many things–a purposeful decision I guard with great vigil. There will be more on the home front soon but if you happen o read this between 10:30 am and 12:30pm Mountain Standard Time on Friday, January 15th, say a prayer for us.

Having a break from school has been so nice. Working for the university is fantastic as the year is chock-full of paid holidays that aren’t subtracted from my leave-time. One of these holidays is Winter Break–a nearly two week long vacay. We spent most of it in Texas but even after we came back and I had to go to work, it was so nice having the simplicity of just a 40-hour a-week job. Texas and time with family is always great. I miss my parents quite ferociously most of the year so waking up in my bedroom at their house each morning for 9 days is such a restorative way to end the year. I feel so taken care of in their home, like I can shed the responsibilities and cares of adulthood when I’m under their roof. It’s awesome. The other great thing about spending that long away is how ready I am to be home by the time it comes around. I love our life and I’m always happy to come back to it. I do miss school. I’ve started getting my text books in the mail and am soooo excited for my fiction workshop with the near-famous Lori Ostlund! I’m thrilled to be part of this class as it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing. She’s kind of a big deal right now so check her out.

My husband owns a gym and he is preparing for a pretty awesome program to start and I get to do it!! I turned 29 in December and I’ve really spent time thinking about the things I don’t want to carry into my next decade. Some of the things I don’t want anymore are about 15 pounds of uselessness, the inability to do a chin-up, and the low level of fitness I currently have. I have a year to make those changes permanent and A12 (the program I’m starting on Monday) is the perfect kickoff to being my strongest ever.

An Excerpt….

From "The Golden Apple".....
"Poppy checked herself one last time in the rearview mirror before getting out to greet Austin. He threw his leather duffel in the back and slammed the hatch down. Austin stood two feet from her for a moment before pulling her into a hug. She relaxed in his arms as he leaned back from her and took the keys, smiling. “I was nervous about you driving in the city.”
“Well, she’s in one piece. No dents or dings.”
“I don’t care about the car.” He looked at her. She thought of London and their conversation a few days before.